Cornell College is located in Eastern Iowa’s Creative Corridor. This seven-county area is home to startups, arts organizations, and more. Cornell College is located in Mount Vernon, Iowa, which is recognized as a vibrant small town within 30 miles of both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City. At this small liberal arts college with a national and global focus, members of the local community, students, faculty, staff, and members of the college’s alumni community have the opportunity to engage in an educational journey at TEDxCornellCollege.

The inaugural event on March 19 of 2016 facilitated new connections, creative thinking and the spread amazing ideas among students, faculty, and community members. Thinkers, leaders, dreamers, and doers in attendance endured a captivating day of phenomenal content, guided by an amazing team of volunteers. TEDxCornellCollege invites you learn about the speakers, share your favorite talk from the event, and attend future events.

Cornell College, Kimmel Theatre
600 First St. SW
Mount Vernon, Iowa, 52314
United States

Aubrey Kohl

Student

Given a less than one percent chance of survival by doctors when born Aubrey Kohl was born with Turner Syndrome. Turner Syndrome is a rare chromosomal abnormality occurring in about 1 of every 2500 female births worldwide that results in abnormal physical and hormonal development. Throughout her life, Aubrey has survived 20 surgeries, from reconstructive ear surgery to two critical open heart surgeries. Despite all of the challenges, Aubrey feels being born with Turner Syndrome is the best thing that could have ever happened to her. The adversity she overcame taught her to never underestimate the power of positive thinking and smiling. Aubrey is a native of Davenport Iowa and an actively involved junior at Cornell College with hopes of attending law school.

Charles Staley

Music Educator & Fine Arts Advocate

Chip Staley is a National Board Certified music educator with degrees from the University of Wisconsin and the University of Illinois. He recently retired after 30 years in Indian Prairie School District 204, Naperville, Illinois where he cultured a supportive community that ensures fine arts are an internal part of every day life. At different times he has been Fine Arts Chair at multiple high schools and has taught a pleura of ensembles from jazz, to marching bands and symphony orchestras. Staley’s bands have performed at Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, the University of Illinois’ Krannert Center and at venues across the world. Staley also founded ARTSpeaks, a grassroots advocacy group dedicated to elevating the status of the arts in public schools www.artspeaks.org. He has cultivated music excellence in the classroom and fostered creativity among the fine arts as he continues to profoundly impact thousands of students.

Dan Schofer

Collegiate Coach

Dan Schofer is in his 10th year as head cross country coach and 4th year as head track & field coach at Cornell College. The Wilmette, Illinois native graduated from Carleton College with a degree in biology prior to completing a MS degree in exercise physiology at the University of Oregon. After graduating from Oregon, Schofer was an assistant track and field coach at Carleton and assistant cross country and track & field coach at Rhodes College prior to assuming his current role at Cornell College. In his time at Cornell, Schofer has coached 95 All-Conference runners, 25 Conference Champions, 17 NCAA qualifiers, 12 All-Americans, and 2 National Champions. He has build the foundation for a phenomenal program, as his coaching extends beyond the stopwatch, cultivating life skills among his athletes.

David Simnick

Entrepreneur

David Simnick is the CEO and Co-Founder of SoapBox, a company with a mission to empower consumers to change the world through every day quality purchases. SoapBox sells a full range of personal care products, each with their own mission to provide soap or clean water to those in need with every purchase. SoapBox is now sold in Target, Walmart, Rite Aid, Publix, ShopRite, select Walgreens, Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, and many other stores across the United States and beyond. David has worked or consulted for USAID, the U.S. Army, Michelle Rhee, the U.S. Senate, and also was a Teach for America educator in Philadelphia. As an Eagle Scout, David loves the outdoors, volunteering, and working with budding entrepreneurs. He received his undergraduate degree from American University before starting SoapBox.

Eaton Lattman

Biophysicist

Earning his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his PhD from Johns Hopkins University, Dr. Eaton E. Lattman has spent nearly his entire academic career at the Johns Hopkins University. Beginning as a graduate student in Biophysics, and rising to become Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. He was instrumental in setting up the Hopkins Institute for Biophysical Research, which served as a focal point for the growth of biophysics across the whole university. He has served on many NIH committees – notably, the National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, and the NIGMS Advisory Committee on the Protein Structure Initiative. Dr. Lattman joined the University at Buffalo, Department of Structural Biology as a faculty member, and Hauptman Woodward Medical Research Institute as its CEO. While in Buffalo, Dr. Lattman has expanded the UB Department of Structural Biology and HWI's collaborations with both academia and industry. 

Gregory Petsko

Bioengineer

As Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College, and the Director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer’s Disease Research Institute, Dr. Gregory A. Petsko holds appointments in Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University, Neurology at Harvard Medical School, and Biochemistry and Chemistry, Emeritus, at Brandeis University. He received his BA from Princeton University summa cum laude, and his D. Phil. from Oxford University, attending on a Rhodes Scholarship, in Molecular Biophysics. An elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, Dr. Gregory A. Petsko seeks answers to the some of the largest questions, while captivating the curiosity of others.